


Honoumi's last tour

by Saberin



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, 少女終末旅行 | Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou | Girls' Last Tour (Anime)
Genre: F/F, the opening of this anime is fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 12:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13146375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saberin/pseuds/Saberin
Summary: In which Kettenkrad chugs on and the girls make their way to their destination / Honoumi is totally gay for each other (and they're totally the charas from girls' last tour??? come on)





	Honoumi's last tour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hidekins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hidekins/gifts).



> https://youtu.be/M4S7EtC0JGc the opening of the anime is an absolute jam, but you know what's nicer? an 8bit version of it

**Honoumi’s last tour**

_i. road_

“Hey Umi-chan,” Honoka tilts her head back, resting her head on Umi’s firm shoulder. The sky is a pretty blue, with clouds splattered across the endless canvas. She traces another bread cloud with her finger and pops the question again. “Do you think they’ll have bread there?”

“We can’t be too hopeful.” Umi answers. That is what she answered, but they haven’t seen bread since they were both children. She gives her passenger another look and sighs for the third time in twenty minutes. The Kettenkrad chugs on, slow on the snowy road, with an occasional creak or two. They are on their way to the nearby refuelling station (based on Kotori’s maps), and Honoka hasn’t shut up about the ration facility that they will pass by on the way.

“Umi-channnnnnnn,” Honoka whines, “I miss having bread.” The rations at the back of the vehicle clack in their boxes, and Honoka looks at them almost regretfully. Potatoes will have to do. Potatoes wrapped in weird foil. She could _almost_ pass it off as bread.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have started on this trip?” Umi asks softly. She doesn’t take her eyes off the road (road safety!) but she knows Honoka probably has the biggest pout on right now.

“Nooooooooooooooo!” The next level would be a distance away, but they could see it on the horizon – tall buildings and overarching skyscrapers, metal pipes and obscure looking statues. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“We’re on an adventure!” Honoka raises her voice a little. Although they both know that it is anything but. She aims the gun barrel on the biggest bread cloud and fakes a bang. Blowing the imaginary smoke off her fingers, she turns around and look at Umi’s back expectantly.

“You’re an idiot.” Umi tilts her head back this time, with Honoka rushing forward to meet Umi’s head with her own. Their helmets clash when they bang their heads together, the shrill sound echoing off the dead scrapyard of a city. “Honoka!”

“Hehe. You’re finally paying attention to me.” The Kettenkrad slows to a stop when Umi lets go off the pedal, the brakes screeching as they work (Umi’s cradling her head with her hands). With the widest grin she could muster, Honoka cups Umi’s cheeks with both her hands.

“What are you saying? I’m the best partner you could ever have!”

 

_ii. gods_

It is a mystery how the ancient people managed to build something this huge out of thin air. The temple (they’re guessing it is) that they are stopping by is _huge._ And even then, huge is an understatement. A sense of loss hits Umi the moment she hops off Kettenkrad, the soft sounds of the engine no more the moment Umi switches it off.

“Keep close to me Honoka,” Umi says, grabbing onto her partner’s hand. It is likely that there isn’t anything worthwhile looking for in this huge abandoned structure, but there is always a possibility of learning something new. Besides, Honoka has been raving about the statues, skipping off the Kettenkrad before she could even fully stop the vehicle.

“Aye ayeee!” Honoka nods and laces their fingers together.

The lantern that Honoka is holding flickers, as if in agreement, and they step into through the wide doors, with breeze from nowhere hitting them right in the face. The doors lead into a dark passageway, the dim flame lighting up pillars made up of marble and walkways of glass. Limestone lines up the rest of the path, and brick cores making up the ceiling. It is awe-inspiring, and for once Honoka is quiet, blue eyes taking in the sight before. It sends a chill down her spine, and she could almost hear the ghostly whispers of the past.

She wonders how grand it would’ve been centuries ago.

“It’s…. fired clay bricks,” Umi comments, touching the passage walls. Honoka almost questions _what the hell is a fired clay brick,_ before closing her mouth. She knows better than to interrupt Umi when she is like that, eyes wide open and _excited._ It has been a while since she has seen Umi behave like this, after two months of travelling in the wilderness and nothingness, and she isn’t quite willing to let that scene go right yet.

“Do you think there are gods up there?” Umi asks, stopping before a particularly well sculpted statue of a goddess. It has a veil over it, solemn expression on despite years of erosion and damage.

“Hmm?” Honoka takes a look at it and another at Umi. She cups Umi’s cheeks with her palms, this time feeling the cheeks heat up as Umi splutters.

“God kinda looks like you Umi.” Honoka laughs softly, with her widest grin on.

 

_iii. presence_

It takes them almost an hour before everything is nothing and void of light. The flames from the lantern flickers violently seconds before it’s extinguished, right before a wall sculpture of various ancient gods. The only beam of brightness left comes from the flashlight Umi is holding, and even then, it flickers dangerously, as if running on the last of its juices.

“We should head out soon,” Umi frowns, “It is probably enough exploring.”

They are both quiet after; Umi notices Honoka’s increasingly tight grip on her arm as the light dims. They are almost at the end of the passageway when the light flickers its last, sending them into boundless darkness. And then they _slip_ on the edge of a cracked step, the flashlight barrels out of Umi’s hand, their arms are no longer lodged.

And Honoka finds herself truly alone for once in two months.

“Umi-chan?” Honoka shouts into the darkness, brushing her knees and just mindlessly standing there in shock. “Umi-chan are you there?”

It is as if the last of life was snuffed out along with the light; she could feel none of Umi’s presence. None of that face that she came to adore so much. (No matter how it is almost always solemn and grim.)

And for that brief moment, she feels real fear. The apocalypse and its aftermath. The fact that they are running on rations and limited water. The snowy whiteness that stretches for as long as their vision could see. 

“Umi-chan?” She calls out once more, fists clenched tight. _What if Umi never answers again? What if-_

It takes her a solid minute of shouting before finally deciding to venture forth with hands outstretched. She hits a stone wall with her hand and settles for walking along the edges.

“Umi-chan!” She tries once more, as anxiety grips her from behind. She thinks about the white field, the loneliness, her partner. She thinks about the Kettenkrad that she loves.

_What if-_

“I’m here Honoka,” There is a chuckle she thought she would never hear, coming from her left, soft and full of sunshine. “I just wanted to give you a little scare.”

“You’re-”

She lunges at the voice, sending both of them tripping down _somewhere._ A burst of light fills the room the moment they hit the glass floor; she sees an illuminated statue at the end, glass panels behind it. And crystals, crystals of blue, crystals of white, crystals of every colour.

“Umi is an idiot!” Honoka finishes, keeping Umi lying on the floor with hands on either side of her partner.

Umi thinks she has never seen Honoka with an expression like that – cheeks flushed and tears visible, pout on, upset and _indignant._ She probably deserves it for a prank like that; Umi shuts her eyes as Honoka squishes her cheeks with her palms for the third time that day, bracing herself for her impending punishment.

Their helmets clash when they bang their heads together, the shrill sound echoing off the stone walls of the temple.

“Honoka!”

“I was scared okay?” Honoka mutters softly. The glass panels reflect the light off the podium, and Umi flushes at how visibly red Honoka’s cheeks are. “You are the best partner I could ever have.”

 

_iv. lights_

The way out of the temple was nothing short of dangerous. They made it though, through the illuminated room and back to Kettenkrad, with Honoka practically leaping at their missed vehicle. And then they are back on track, chugging down paths that god knows where they lead.

It is not until the sun sets when they hit an elevator to the next level; they are well into the depths of an abandoned city with functioning lights and working water system. Kettenkrad chugs to a stop at a building nearby, and then they are set to settle down for the night.

It is a cosy room they chose to settle in; there is pair of metal chairs and a worn out (metal) desk. Never mind the lack of windows, they have not had a pair of roof over their heads for a while now. Not since leaving their level.

“Do you think they made it?” Honoka asks, lying down on the chair. “Kotori and the others?”

“They will.” Umi replies, “They would already have probably.”

Her pen scratches on the journal, neat handwriting with occasional messy scribbles from Honoka. It keeps her sane sometimes, rereading the details of their journey. And even though she would probably never admit it, Honoka keeps her sane as well, with her loud and boisterous self.

“Umi-chan! Umi-chan!” Her partner exclaims suddenly, leaping up from the seat. “Maki-chan once taught me a way to find our way.” It is quickly replaced by a quizzical look, as Umi rejoins Honoka by the window. “Uh? North star?”

“Ursa Minor?” Umi laughs, “We will probably never see it in the city.”

“Wait, what is that?”

“A constellation.”

“Maki-chan said sailors used to use them! Doesn’t that make us sailors too?”

“Maybe?”

“We should totally give Kettenkrad a name.”

It goes on for a while, until the sun fully sets, and the lights flicker on, bright as stars. They leave hexagonal patterns of glow, according to Umi, but Honoka thinks its just Umi’s eyesight failing as they go.

“They look a bit more like…” And Honoka cups Umi’s cheeks once more, “Your eyes!” And even as Umi chokes on unsaid words, the smile never really left Honoka’s face.

“They are a pair of pretty stars.”

 

_v. destination_

Mornings are grand affairs, they spend mornings roasting potatoes over what little fuel they have left, and indulging in the scent of cooked food. In a world that is almost empty, it brings short lived joys, roasted potatoes taste almost as good as bread. After all, Kotori’s maps are always accurate to date and they believed in it, counting down the days that they will reach the next refuelling station.

Sometimes they’ll see a sign or two, Nozomi’s spray paint on the most obscene of statues, Kotori’s photograph taped at the side of an elevator. It is almost like everyone is waiting for them at their final destination, never mind the fact that they both don’t know where it is.

They’ll reach it maybe, Honoka thinks, as long as they keep moving.

“As long as we keep travelling it will be fine!” Honoka repeats over and over throughout the day, “Moving and moving~”

It is a familiar routine – potatoes in the day, a water source in the afternoon, sleeping with blankets of stars at the back of the Kettenkrad.

“We will reach the highest level one day.” Honoka smiles confidently when the last of the sun’s glow disappears behind the night sky. Umi wonders where that endless confidence comes from, even though she is thankful for it.

“When we reach the highest floor, I will squash your cheeks with two pieces of bread,” Honoka wraps Umi’s arms around her as they settle down on the tractor. “Like when you did that to me with two books! That hurt you know.”

And that night they fall asleep thinking about the future, one with bread and books, friends and lights.

 

_vi. home_

The Kettenkrad chugs on, slow on the snowy road, with an occasional creak or two. The sky is a pretty blue, with clouds splattered across, shaped like bread. Next level would be a distance away, but they could see it on the horizon – tall buildings and overarching skyscrapers, metal pipes and obscure looking statues.

It has been days since they last had a roof over their heads, but Umi begins to think it is better that way, for only move should be constant. They almost didn’t want to leave that city from weeks ago, not until she remembers their destination and depleting supplies.

They manage to hit the refuelling station before the sun sets, another map down and four more to go. The rest of the journey is a mystery, but where is the fun if everything is planned out? It is Honoka’s influence probably, Umi thinks, driving the Kettenkrad forward into the night.

It is only when Honoka’s hums slowly died out did Umi consider stopping. Time is a lost concept, but Honoka’s sleep schedule is probably always on point. The Kettenkrad slows to a stop when Umi lets go off the pedal, the brakes screeching as they work. Umi climbs in after, to the back of Kettenkrad, onto their makeshift bed. Honoka is already asleep, hugging her rifle close. She cups Honoka’s cheeks this time, cracking a content smile when Honoka makes an unconscious expression.

“You’re the best partner I could ever have.” She says, with the softest whisper.

**Author's Note:**

> never thought honoumi would be my first 5 + 1 but here it is lmao as a secret santa gift. merry christmas hideki!!


End file.
